Smyrna times., 1887-08-03
Honest Clerks.

1t is remarkably strange that people
who employ financiers to do their busi-
ness never discover that their money
is stolen and squandered until it is too
late to get it back. A clerk is often
employed who has charge of the re-
ceipts and disbursements of money,
but the employer in a few short years
wakes up to find that his confidential
clerk has taken good care of himself
and disbursed his money in other than
legitimate channels. Why did not the
employer find this out sooner? He
certainly was to blame for not know
ing what became of his money. To
let his confidential clerk have full
charge of his money, expecting him to
do what was right, was but an invi-
tation for him to steal it. We have a
fair illustration of this species of clerk
in Joseph NJ. White, cashier of the
Philadelphia Times, who turned out a
scoundrel and robbed his employers of
from $4,000 to $4,000, and nobody
knows how much more. Scoundrels
have such a way of covering up their
tracks to hide their guilt that it is
very hard to find out how great rogues
they are. White was trusted clerk
under a Vigilant employer, and yet he
began stealing the very first year he
was on the paper. He seemed to
have no bad habits, but was simply
extravagant in his way of living. He
had no occasion to steal for he was
paid $50 week salary. 1t, however,
took 1925 a week to put him through.
He was simply a thief and deserves
all the punishment the law can give
him. The man who demands your
money or life on the highway is en-
titled to some respect, as he shows
bravery at least. But the scoundrel
who, under a guise of friendship and
shielded by careless or too cOniiding
trust, rObs his employer, then the law
and public sentiment should let the
sword of law and justice fall heavily.
All men may be honest, but they need
watching. 1t is an old but true saying
that it is too late to lock the stable
when the horse is stolen. Experts
should be early, and not after the
money is gone. A little bit of COM
mon sense, however, would have shown
the prOprietOrs of the Philadelphia
Times that White was living in a style
far beyond what his income afforded.
The business man cannot be too care
ful of the clerks he employs. It is
not enough to know that he goes to
church, chews no tobacco, drinks no
whisky and does not swear. These
are too often but clOaks to the villain.
The papers of the day are full of the
defalcatiOns and thefts of just such
men. Every employer ought to know
the exact habits of his clerks. He
should know where they spend their
evenings and their spare moments
through the day. 1t takes but a few
moments to gamble away a fortune.
A man can in moment take an option
upon worthless stock that may sweep
away the earnings of years. The man
who CANDLES is not honest and should
never be employed in a capacity where
his honesty has to lie tested, and the
employer VINO does not know whether
his trusted clerks gamble is not SHARP
enough to carry on a successful busi
ness. A large salary paid to a clerk il
no security that that same clerk will
not rob his employer. White could
have lived very respectfully in Phila
delphia on $50 a week, but he didn'
do it. 1t took more than twice tba
much. His employers, easy-goinl
souls, never thought of looking aitel
him to see how he lived. His fas
horses, and perhaps faster women
never opened their eyes until they
found they were robbed. We almOs
said they deserve to be robbed, bu
we won't say it. They deserve bette
men for clerks, hut they won't ge
them unless they look after them NOR
about their everyday. private live
and characters.-Daily Republican.